Chapter 5 — East Harbor

The investigation changed Harper too. For the first time in years, her work felt personal without feeling small. She visited East Harbor and spoke with warehouse employees, restaurant owners, and families who had lived near the docks for generations.

Connor’s redevelopment plan classified their homes as blighted structures.

Roman knew many of the residents by name. He stopped to speak with an elderly grocer named Mr. Alvarez about his wife’s surgery. He remembered the birthday of a forklift operator’s daughter.

He listened when union representatives criticized his construction timeline.

“You expected monsters with baseball bats,” Roman told Harper as they walked along the harbor.

“I expected fear.”